Mouth Ulcers and Nutrition

Mouth Ulcers and Nutrition

Mouth ulcers or commonly referred to as canker sore, tend to be painful, especially during the first few days. They can be identified by painful white or yellowish spots scattered through the mouth. They normally last for a week or two and larger ones may last for over a month. Fever, fatigue and swollen lymph nodes may develop for serious cases.

During attacks, avoid taking any food or beverages that may irritate the sores, such as:

• salty, spicy, and acidic foods
• alcohol and hot beverages

Consume plenty of the following:

• lean animal products for vitamin B12
• dark green leafy vegetables, wheat germ and legumes for folate
• lean meat, dried fruits, fortified cereals, and other high-iron foods

Other things you can do

Try chewing any over-the-counter antacid tablet, or hold the tablet on the sore and let it dissolve. It will ease pain by neutralising acids that eat into the sore. You can also put a damp tea bag on the sore for the same effect.

Mouth Ulcers and Nutrition

Gout: Foods To Take And To Avoid

Gout: Foods To Take And To Avoid

Gout is commonly marked by swelling, inflamation and excrutiating tenderness in the joints. The affected joints are normally at base of the big toe, ankles, other foot joints, knees, wrists and fingers.

Gout is caused by an inherited defect in the kidney's ability to excrete uric acid. When too much of uric acid is deposited in the synovial fluid that surrounds the joints forming jagged crystals, our body's immune system attempts to eliminate them through inflamation process. Intense pain normally follows and might last for days if left untreated.

How to manage gout with diet

Avoid foods that are high in purines, such as anchovies, sardines, kidney, liver, meat extracts, mackerel, herring, scallops, game, beer, and red wine. Try also avoiding cereals, bran, oatmeal, beans and peas, and nuts.

Consume plenty of liquids, about 2 litres a day to dilute urine and prevent kidney stone formation. However, avoid caffeinated beverages and alcoholic drinks.

Eat plenty of fish high in omega-3 to reduce inflamation.

Take fresh fruits that are high in vitamins and minerals, and dietary fibre.

Limit consumption of vegetables such as cauliflower, asparagus, green peas, spinach, and mushroom.

Finally, get your doctor's advice if you are on drug therapy beause certain drugs are known to interfere with normal kidney functions.

Gout: Foods To Take And To Avoid

Alzheimer's Disease: Brain Health And Foods That Fight The Disease

Alzheimer's Disease: Brain Health And Foods That Fight The Disease

Researchers has recently shown that certain nutrients possess benefits in reducing the risk of degenerative diseases of the brain. Antioxidants, such as vitamins E, C, B12 and folic acid have been shown to play an important role in healthy brain functioning. Antioxidants, often found in fruits and vegetables, have also been associated with improved mental function, including memory. Vitamin B12 and folic acid may also have beneficial effects on overall cognitive abilities.

Alzheimer's Disease is a degenerative brain disease that can cause a person to forget recent events or familiar tasks. Recent research has also shown that a diet rich in antioxidants, such as fruits and vegetables, may protect against Alzheimer's disease and slow the progression of the disease in people already diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It is believed that people with low levels of folate and vitamin B12 in their blood may be at a higher risk of Alzheimer's Disease.

The disease is characterised by abnormal deposits of a protein called beta-amyloid (plaque) in the brain as well as by twisted fibres caused by changes in a protein called “tau” (tangles).
Those who find it hard to incorporate a range of healthy foods into their diet should consider taking a daily multivitamin. A good multivitamin/mineral supplement that includes vitamins C, B6, E, D, folic acid and minerals such as iron, zinc and selenium, could improve mental functioning and help delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

To help fight Alzheimer’s Disease, you need to consume plenty of the following foods:

• Fatty fish for the omega-3 fatty acids can be found in salmon, sardines and mackerel;
• Meat, fish, poultry, whole grains, beans, lentils, avocados, bananas, nuts, potatoes and leafy greens for vitamin B6;
• Eggs, soybeans and soy products, liver, whole grains, and wheat germ – all reasonably good sources of lecithin and choline;
• Leafy green vegetables, corn, orange juice, cooked beans and lentils, enriched breads and cereals for folate;
• Lean meat, fish, poultry or dairy products for vitamin B12

You also need to avoid antacids with aluminium and using cooking utensils made of aluminium. Though some researchers argue that the metal may not cause the disease, its increased concentration in the Alzheimer’s brain worsens the condition. Here is a tip: cook acidic foods, such as tomatoes, in iron pots that add large amounts of iron to foods. Foods may be discoloured, but taste is unaffected.

According to this report, Alzheimer’s disease and type 2 diabetes have some sort of correlation between each other. Type 2 diabetes is more associated with obesity, which often appears later in life.

Nutrition intake in foods should be monitored carefully. Supplements only when specifically recommended by a physician.

Alzheimer's Disease: Brain Health And Foods That Fight The Disease

Choosing Health Foods And Healthy Foods And Reading Nutrition Labels

Choosing Health Food And Healthy Foods And Reading Nutrition Labels


When buying foods, I rarely read the nutrition labels. I think it is because the information printed on them is too technical, hard to understand at a glance. However, after reading a report from Chris Robertson, I might have to change my habit.

Health food doesn't need a definition, does it? We all know what health food is, it's yogurt and granola, whole-grain cereal and organically grown vegetables and fruit. It's 100% natural, no preservatives or dyes, unadulterated, pure. When you put all that together, you should have healthy foods, yet all too often, what's marketed as health foods these days barely classifies as foods, let alone health foods.

Take a look at one of our favourite health food choices - yogurt. It hit supermarket shelves in the early seventies, though it had been available before that in health food stores and restaurants. Real yogurt has two ingredients: milk (whole, skim or low fat) and live yogurt cultures. That's health food - calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, protein. Next time you're at the supermarket, take a look at the dairy case. You'll find row after row of hyper-sweetened brightly coloured rainbow swirled and candy-sprinkled yogurt packaged in ways that appeal to our littlest consumers - children. Millions of parents buy the enticing packages, secure that because it's yogurt, they're buying food that's healthy for their children.

One look at the label, though, and it's clear that these kiddy yogurts (as well as most of the yogurt that's marketed to adults) are a far cry from heath food. Some of the most popular yogurts for children contain anywhere from 3 to 10 added teaspoons of sugar. Considering how many teaspoons of yogurt are in a single serving, you might as well hand your child the sugar bowl. In addition, most yogurts include "natural" ingredients that have little to do with health food. Ingredients like pectin (to thicken yogurt), carrageenan (a seafood extract that gives some yogurts their body, and annatto (for colour) add little nutritionally to yogurt. They're in the mix to serve one main purpose: to help yogurt survive its trip from the factory to your table.

You'll find the same situation with other foods that originally made their debut as health foods in the seventies. Granola has become granola bars with chocolate chips and gooey caramel. Whole wheat flour is bleached and denuded of its flavourful kernels. Sunflower seeds are roasted in oil and salted. Even brown rice comes in the instant variety.

Healthy foods not health foods

The secret to feeding your family (and yourself) a healthful diet of healthy food is to read the labels. The United States Food & Drug Administration has laid out strict guidelines for nutritional labelling of all food products. The nutrition label will tell you all you need to know to choose real health foods. Some things to keep in mind when reading nutrition labels for health foods:

• In the ingredient's portion of the nutrition label, ingredients are listed in order by amount. The ingredient that's listed first is the main ingredient, followed by the next largest amount, etc.
• The nutrition facts label must list each of the required nutrients even if the food provides 0% of the recommended daily value.
• The nutrition facts label must list what portion of the food's calories is derived from fat, from sugar, from protein and from carbohydrates. It will also break down the fat into saturated and unsaturated fat.

Reading labels on everything you feed your family is the best way to tell whether a food is really a health food - or just masquerading as one.

Choosing Health Foods And Healthy Foods And Reading Nutrition Labels

Healthy Breakfast Foods

Healthy Breakfast Foods

It is always surrounded by silly excuse of lack of time. And still no one denies that fact that "breakfast" is the most important meal of the day.

Why such a big fuss about this early morning meal? Well, for starters, this meal comes after a break of 8 - 10 hours; hence your blood sugar level will be low. Since your body has gone with out food for such a long time, it needs nourishment to kick-start its day. Therefore "breakfast" is considered to be an important and essential meal of the day.

Breakfast benefits both, young and old. It is the key to jump start your muscles and your day. People who eat breakfast (healthy) daily are more likely to

• Consume more vitamins, minerals and less of fat and cholesterol.
• Increased strength and endurance.
• Better concentration and productivity all day long.
• Control over weight.
• Low cholesterol = no risk or little risk of heart disease.

Breakfast enhances learning and physical performance. Children who eat breakfast are likely to have better concentration, problem-solving skills and eye-hand coordination. And studies have shown that they also behave better. They will be alert, creative, and less likely to miss days of school.

Did you know that eating breakfast might also help you lose weight? If you think skipping this meal, will help you lose weight, think again. By passing over this meal, your body will go in the starvation mode and make you crave for snacks especially sweets. Impulsive snacking on unhealthy foods can lead to weight gain. So your motive of losing weight by skipping breakfast stays unachieved.

Try to choose foods for health from at least two food groups each morning

• Fruits & Vegetables
• Grains
• Dairy
• Proteins

A glass of pure fruit juice, bananas, yoghurt, low-calorie muesli with semi skimmed or skimmed milk, fresh fruit salad with few spoonfuls of low fat yoghurt, fresh and raw veggies mixed with flavoured yoghurt, a slice of toast or plain bread with eggs, boiled or poached are some of the options for breakfast. Kids can enjoy a Smoothie with their favourite fruits; add dash of yoghurt or honey to make it more delicious.

If you look forward to eating different kinds of healthy foods for breakfast, you are less likely to skip this meal. If time is your hurdle, think about packing your breakfast or eating on the 'run', its better than skipping it altogether.

Healthy Breakfast Foods

"Health Foods" That May Be Unhealthy!

"Health Foods" That May Be Unhealthy!

There are many of us who are dieting and trying to live a healthy lifestyle. We exercise and go out of our way to eat the best foods we can. Most of us already know that trans-fats, white sugar and white flour are not the best health choices, especially if we want to keep our weight down.

Unfortunately some of the very foods that we think are healthy are ones that can cause a lot of trouble for our bodies, and even make us ill. Below is a list of some surprisingly unhealthy “health foods.”

Artificial Sweeteners

Many people who are dieting, whether it is low calorie or low carb diets, will opt for beverages with artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Admittedly sugar is certainly a troublemaker and should be avoided, but artificial sweeteners are actually worse for you and could even be dangerous to your health.

All the artificial sweeteners are bad, but one of the worst sweeteners for us is NutraSweet (Equal, aspartame). There are over 92 different health related side effects associated with aspartame consumption, including brain tumours, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures. There are more adverse reactions to NutraSweet reported to the FDA than all other foods and additives combined.
A much better alternative to chemically derived sweeteners is stevia, which comes from a plant. It has been used for centuries with no know side effects.

Sports Drinks

Although marketers would have us believe that sports drinks are what the body needs when exercising heavily, the truth is that sports drinks are filled with sugar (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) and salt (potassium and sodium) as well as artificial flavourings and colourings. Add a little salt to Cool-Aid and you have about the same thing. You would be much better off drinking spring water or diluted freshly squeezed juices while exercising.

Most Energy and Sports Bars

Most sports and bars are also filled with things that are not the best for our bodies, and are little better than candy bars. Many of them contain sugar or artificial sweeteners, chemicals, preservatives, and synthetic nutrients. Check the ingredients before you buy an energy bar. Try to find one that is made with whole foods, such as oats and flax seeds, fruits, and natural sweeteners.

Soy Products

This is one of the most surprising ones of all, after all soy has been used for countless generations in Asia. But the way Europeans and Americans now use soy is very different than the way the Asians have traditionally used it. The ancient Asians knew that the soybean was hard to digest, so they had extensive fermenting processes that broke down most of the indigestible components, making it much healthier to eat. Examples of this would be products like soy sauce, tempeh, and miso. These were used in small amounts as condiments and flavourings, not as a meat replacement.

But the way Europeans and Americans use soy as a meat alternative (texturized vegetable protein or TVP) can be very unhealthy, since soy contains large amounts of toxins or anti-nutrients. Some of the problems the anti-nutrients in soybeans cause are conditions of the pancreas, cancer and thyroid problems. Soybeans also can block the body’s absorption of essential minerals.

Granola (and Other Unprepared Grains)

For the last 30-40 years granola has been synonymous with heath food. But eating unprepared grains, or grains that have not been soaked, fermented or sprouted, has only come about in the last 50-100 years. People who lived before our time understood that unprepared grains could cause dietary distress.

There are anti-nutrients in grains (like there are in soybeans), such as phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, that make them harder to digest. These antinutrients can cause serious problems like Crohn's disease, colitis, and even mental disorders. Our failure to prepare our grains properly is one of the reasons that celactic disease is so prevalent now.

So, stay away from the granola. Oatmeal is an excellent addition to our diets, but use whole rolled oats (not instant) and soak them overnight before boiling them for breakfast.

Good breads to eat are those that have properly prepared grains, including whole grain sourdough and sprouted grain breads. You can usually find these in specialty grocery stores and health food stores.

If you are trying to lose weight and/or eat healthier, remember that just because a company markets a “healthy” product well or a health food store sells it, it doesn’t mean that it is really healthy for you. Do some research before you grab that sports bar, or better yet, reach for an organic apple, cherries, or some other natural (not processed) food. Your body will thank you and reward you for it.

"Health Foods" That May Be Unhealthy!

Additives in Foods: Are They Good For Our Health?

Additives in Foods: Are They Good For Our Health?

Most of us may already know that food enhancers or additives – flavourings, preservatives and dyes – have been used for centuries. But some ingredients on today’s food labels can be really scary.

Common food additives are substances that do not occur naturally in a food but are added for various reasons. What are they?

1. Preservatives to prevent spoilage;
2. Emulsifiers to prevent water and fat from separating;
3. Thickeners;
4. Vitamins and minerals (either to replace nutrients lost in processing or to increase nutritional value);
5. Sweeteners (either artificial or natural), salts and flavourings to improve taste;
6. Dyes to make foods more visually appealing.

Preservatives

Benzoic acid and benzoates: Mostly found in soft drinks, beer, fruit products, margarine, and acidic foods. Their functions are to extend shelf life and protect food from fungi and bacteria.

Nitrites and nitrates: Mostly found in processed meats, such as sausages, hot dogs, bacon, ham, and lunch meats; and smoked fish. Their functions are the same as above, including to preserve colour in meats and dried fruits.

Sulfites: Mostly found in dried fruits, shredded coconut, fruit based pie fillings, and relishes. Their functions are the same as above.

Antioxidants

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and ascorbates: Mostly found in fruit products, acidic foods, and fatty foods that become rancid. Ascorbates prevent fruit juices from turning brown and fatty foods from becoming rancid.

Tocopherols (vitamin E): Mostly found in oils and shortenings. They prevent rancidity in fats and other damage to food due to exposure to oxygen.

Colourings

Beta carotene, caramel, carrot oil, citrus red #1, dehydrated beets, FD&C colours: Found in many processed foods, especially sweets and products marketed for children, soft drinks, baked goods, and confectionery items. Also used on bologna and other processed meats, as well as to colour the skin of oranges and certain fruits. Their functions are to make foods look more appetizing.

Flavour Enhancers

Disodium guanylate: Used on canned meats and meat-based foods to improve flavour.

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein: Used in mixes, stock, and processed meats to improve flavour.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG): Used in Chinese or Asian foods to heighten taste perception so that foods seem to taste better.

Emulsifiers, Stabilizers, And Thickeners

Carageenan, cellulose, glycerol, gum Arabic, lecithin, pectins: Found in sauces, soups, breads, baked goods, frozen desserts, ice cream, low-fat and artificial cream cheese, condiments, jams, jellies, chocolate, puddings, and milk shakes. Their functions are to improve texture and consistency of processed foods by increasing smoothness, creaminess, and volume.

Besides the above, thousands of substances make their way into food during growing, processing, and packaging, which may become a health threat compared to other direct additives. Examples include pesticides traces found on crops and soil. Environmental pollutants are also harmful when ingested in high quantities.

Preserved foods tend to have more additives than fresh ones. So, it is time for us to start choosing wisely if we are really serious about maintaining our health.

Additives in Foods: Are They Good For Our Health?

How Mass Produced Foods Affect Our Health

How Mass Produced Foods Affect Our Health


I read an interesting report by Drs. Ralph and Lahni DeAmicis recently regarding mass produced foods and how they affect our health. It is so easy to take for granted the variety of foods that are available today and satisfy our appetite without asking what is actually in it. When it comes to eating mass produced foods, here's what I find out.

Food manufacturers can easily manipulate a whole population by the products they make available at a cheap price. The way those foods are processed and the things that are added to them can decide the level of health that millions of people experience. These days the most widely marketed and consumed foods in the western world create health problems that have turned entire populations into 'cash cows' for the drug companies and medical industry. You have a choice about the foods you eat and you can choose good health or sickness.

You can also use supplements to help protect you from the glues, synthetic hormones and genetically modified pseudo-foods that are found in many mass marketed products and restaurant fare. Healthy foods are also available. Know your enemy! The biggest glues that have helped transform America into the land of the sick in the 21th century are gluten, found in wheat flour and casein, found in cow dairy, the same casein that is used to make Elmer's glue.

Why else would there be a cow on the label? Before the 20th century and the invention of steel rollers, most breads where made with a mix of whole, spouted grains. Sprouting a grain converts the sticky, acidic gluten into alkaline vitamins and amino acids. Including the outer husks increases the food's mineral content. Sprouting grains for breads was the traditional method because it was an easy way to break open the hard seed and make the tough, outer husk usable.

The steel roller permitted manufacturers to grind the seed, separate out the mineral rich outer husks, isolate the sticky gluten and use that to make soft, acidic white bread. Why is wheat 40% of the American diet? Because it's cheap and in it's refined, hybridized state, it can be shaped into anything, except healthy nutrition. It is a major contributor to society's dangerous over consumption of carbohydrates. What is made out of wheat flour? Bread, pizza, pasta, bagels, muffins and pastries.

It's used as a thickening ingredient in all kinds of foods, soups, candies, and sauces. Wheat gluten paste makes a great glue, but do you want to eat glue? Use 100% sprouted breads that you'll find in the freezer section. Cows are big animals with little heads. Goats and sheep have large heads and small bodies, proportioned more like humans. Cow dairy products are high in sugar and casein, both of which are sticky glues. Goat and sheep milk products aren't.
Why do companies use such a sticky, sweet food? Because cows are big milk producers and not very picky eaters, in comparison to goats and sheep, so cow's milk is cheap! Gluten and casein stick to the walls of the digestive system, blocking absorption and slowly degrading the health. Soy is not a good alternative. Rice Milk and Rice Ice Cream are better. For infant's and children, goat's milk mixed with carrot juice is a complete food and quite tasty.

Goat and sheep cheeses are better for people and sheep's cheese is sweeter than goat's cheese. White cane sugar is a sticky, highly refined, acidic poison completely lacking in nutrition, that is designed to create sugar cravings that it can never really satisfy.

White sugar is added to practically everything. However, it lacks the minerals chromium and vanadium. The sugar cravings are the way that the body says that it needs those two minerals that are naturally found in sweet foods, but have been removed to make white sugar.

Soy is another one of the high estrogen foods that have been mass marketed for the purpose of reducing fertility, increasing tumor and cancers and generally reducing the size of the global population. Most of it is genetically modified and it's all much too high in estrogen to do most people any good. In China, soy was considered "poor people food". Herdsmen wouldn't let their animals eat soy. It was used as a rotation crop to put nitrogen into the soil, in the way that Western farmers use red clover, another high estrogen plant.

Part of the world's epidemic obesity, infertility and tumor problems can be traced back to soy. While a little soy sauce now and then may not bother you, adding it wholesale to your diet is putting trouble into your future. Food manufacturers use fats that are cheap to produce, have a long shelf life and are difficult for the body to use. Always use olive oil, minimize canola which comes from genetically modified rapeseed oil.

Next time you go out buying groceries, take a closer look at the fine prints under the labels.

How Mass Produced Foods Affect Our Health